Life of Christ 20
I do not know if Jesus
planned to head into the Judean wilderness for a month when he set out from
Nazareth a few days before, but I suspect He did. I think that He knew it was
time for His public ministry to begin, and He chose to launch it on purpose
with the formal ceremony of baptism followed by a lengthy period of time alone
with God.
I'm a Baptist through
and through, but one of things I've come to respect about Catholicism is its
historical emphasis on withdrawing periodically into a quiet place, where you
can be alone with God and the world He created. Please don't misunderstand
this, for I'm in no way positively referencing Roman Catholic theology, but
they have long grasped this as an essential concept to include in a ministerial
life, and I believe it comes straight from the life of Jesus Christ. We see Him
do it here (Matthew 4.1-2) and elsewhere (Luke 5.16).
Several years ago one of
my church members returned from a vacation in Wisconsin and spoke of seeing a
prayer cabin on their travels, a place specifically set aside for those who
want to be alone with God. Intrigued, I did a bit of research (the fancy way for
saying I googled some things) and found a number of these within driving
distance of me. I settled, finally, upon a place in Western Illinois that is
designed specifically for those who want to be alone with God. It is 80 acres
of wooded hills way back off of some dirt roads in the middle of one of the
most rural counties in the state. (You may find it here.) On this property are three tiny, one room
cabins in which, for a nominal fee, anyone may come and stay for a while. I
went for the first time about four years ago, and I have returned every year
since, and, frankly, it has become one of the highlights of my year. Cut through
the woods and fields are walking trails, and scattered along these trails are
various benches and chairs. For hours I just walk and pray, occasionally stopping
to sit for a while, my only company the deer and wild turkey, and the hawks
soaring in slow circles above me. These times alone with God, so far from the
rush of the busy city I live in, have become exceedingly precious to me,
almost, if you will allow me to say it, sacred in the memory of my mind.
The applications of this
are startlingly obvious. If Jesus Christ, Almighty God, and the Saviour of men,
could not hope to engage upon His great work without first going alone to be
with the Father, how can we frail creatures of dust hope to do so? Especially
is this true of His men, those called to walk with Him and then stand before
His people and share with them what He has said. Do you have a place like this?
More importantly, do you have times like this? I am not now speaking of the
chair where you read your Bible of a morning, but of getting alone, far away
from the call of the world and of your phone, with just you, your Bible, and
God, for a few days.
Before Jesus ministered
in public He withdrew into the Judean wilderness.
Where is your
wilderness?
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